Free Available Chlorine (FAC) water solutions, also known as super-oxidized water solutions, have shown wide use as disinfectants and wound treatment therapies because of their rapid and highly antimicrobial activity against a wide range of bacteria, viruses, and spores. FAC water solutions are typically environmentally safe and, thus, avoid the need for costly disposal procedures. Additionally, FAC water solutions do not promote microbial resistance or tolerance which can be developed with conventional antibiotic therapy. These solutions typically have a pH between 5 and 7 and contain an elevated concentration of a number of highly reactive chlorine species (e.g., hypochlorous acid, sodium hypochlorite, etc.) and other oxidative species which provide antimicrobial properties.
Although standard FAC water solutions are effective disinfectants, they generally have an extremely limited shelf-life (usually only a few hours) due to the reactivity of the chlorine and oxidative species present therein. As a result of this short lifespan, the production of FAC water must often take place in close proximity to where the FAC water is to be used as a disinfectant. This means that a healthcare facility, such as a hospital, must purchase, house and maintain the equipment necessary to produce FAC water. In addition, given their highly reactive and nonselective nature, standard FAC water solutions can often be inactivated by organic load present in a wound site, thereby limiting their effectiveness as wound treatment therapies.
Accordingly, there remains a need for new disinfectants and wound treatment therapies that address the shortcomings of the standard FAC water solutions discussed above. The invention provides such methods. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.